Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist | Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Lancashire Care Foundation Trust; Blackburn; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A local NHS Trust in Blackburn is seeking an experienced Speech & Language Therapist to lead a clinical team. You will develop and maintain social communication pathways and train staff and parents. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and a passion for working with children and young people. Flexible working options are available.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Positive work/life balance

Qualifications

• Experience managing time effectively in a clinical setting.
• Interest in working with children and young people with social communication difficulties.

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise Speech & Language Therapy staff.
• Develop and maintain social communication clinical pathways.
• Provide training for staff and parents.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Time management

Job description

Overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Speech & Language Therapist seeking to develop their career in a Clinical Leadership role. Alongside clinically leading Speech & Language therapy staff in a locality team, this post will enable the postholder to develop their specialist skills in the area of social communication difficulties.

The post holder will be responsible for providing clinical expertise in the area of social communication. This will involve maintaining an updated social communication clinical care pathway in line with current evidence base, updating and providing specific training to staff, parents and wider professionals who are working with children and young people with social communication disorders, as well as providing second opinions for speech and language therapist across the Children’s Therapy Service of Pennine, Central and West.

In addition, the role has an exciting opportunity to work within the diagnostic service with ELHT providing clinical expertise and working with the wider MDT to shape the service delivery.

This position will be based within the Blackburn with Darwen team supporting the current operational and clinical team to support the Speech and Language Therapists and speech and language therapy assistants.

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise Speech & Language Therapy staff in a locality team and provide clinical expertise in social communication.
• Develop and maintain the social communication clinical care pathway in line with current evidence base.
• Provide training to staff, parents and wider professionals who work with children and young people with social communication disorders.
• Provide second opinions for speech and language therapists across the Children’s Therapy Service of Pennine, Central and West.
• Work within the diagnostic service with ELHT, shaping service delivery in collaboration with the wider MDT.
• Support the Blackburn with Darwen team and supervise speech & language therapy staff and assistants; participate in a multidisciplinary team with colleagues in health, education and social care.
• Contribute to developing service delivery models for children and young people with social communication difficulties.

Qualifications

• The successful candidate must be able to effectively manage their own time and demonstrate excellent communication skills.
• An interest in working with children, young people and their families with social communication difficulties is essential.

The Children’s Integrated Therapy and Nursing Team are led by a multidisciplinary management team including AHP leadership. This is an exciting time to join our team if you are interested in shaping our future service delivery model for children and young people with social communication difficulties.

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care. The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

For further information about the role, please see the attached recruitment pack which includes a detailed job description and person specification, or visit our website via Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT.

This advert closes on Monday 15 Sep 2025